Snake!

As I was opening up the chicken coop the other day, I noticed that they were acting strange. Usually, the chickens are desperate to get out in the morning, all huddled up by the door and knocking each other over just to get out. But that morning, they were all still high on the roosts.

So I had a little warning that something was wrong.

When I opened the door and was about to step inside, I saw the tail end of a snake. 

I should probably say at this point that I had seen a similar looking snake a few evenings before when I went out to close up the doors. I would guess it was the exact same snake.

So I retreated quickly. I'm pretty scared of snakes. Guv'nor came out with a shovel in hand. He found the snake curled up behind the feed bin. He tossed it outside and chopped the head off.

I might have heard someone screaming, "make sure you get the head, make sure you get the head." It was probably me.

Later in the morning, our neighbors came around to talk about cutting hay and confirmed that it was a chicken snake. They said, casually, that it would bite you, but it wasn't poisonous. And as they left, they said, "They run in pairs."

Just when I thought I could relax...

But that evening, when we went out to round up the chicks, we found the other snake. Sadly it had partially eaten one of the black chicks. It was dark by then, so I wasn't able to take photos.

Guv'nor found the snake hiding behind the feed bin inside the coop.

Guv'nor detached the head.

Then he held it up so we could see how long it was - about 5 feet.

A closeup of the chicken snake

Guv'nor took it away for me.